My old Buddy, (Clif), passed on one of his earlier cornbread recipes – first shared with Heidi and I about 4 or 5 years ago – after hearing how much she loves having cornbread for dessert with butter and jelly or honey spread on it. This is exactly as it was passed, (including his comments). All I have done is reformat it for presentation on the blog.  Naturally I will be adapting it for some outdoor cooking, but doubt it will need much “tuning”, (if any).

Cornbread, Basic
Source: Albers Corn Meal Box, via Clif with notes (1 servings)

Ingredients:

• 1 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1 cup all purpose white flour
• 1⁄4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1⁄3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 ea egg (large), lightly beaten

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Grease an 8 inch square baking pan.
3. Combine dry ingredients medium bowl.
4. Combine milk, oil, and egg in small bowl. Mix well. Add mixture to dry ingredients. Stir until blended. Pour into pan.
5. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Comments:
If recipe is doubled, use a 13 x 9 inch baking pan.

This uses equal parts flour and cornmeal. A lot of Southern recipes I’ve looked at use either 3 to 1 cornmeal to flour or no flour at all. Some use buttermilk. I have also seen the claim that Yankee cornbread uses sugar and Southern cornbread does not. I’m
skeptical about that claim until it is verified by a Nutritional Anthropologist.

My impression (unscientific and unresearched) is that the higher the flour content and higher the sugar content, the closer you are getting to a corn muffin. This recipe might have too much flour to make a good basis for jalapeño/cheese, or crawfish variations. I have not tried, yet.

This recipe strikes me as an ok, everyday eating, compromise. It tends to break apart and crumble easy, however, due to the high flour content. I think this is the recipe my mom used. For dessert, I used to like to smear “butter” (margarine in those days) on
slices and sprinkle (ok, pour) white sugar on it. Another favorite was to drizzle maple syrup over slices.

Note:
I am already thinking of making a “Big Old Cornbread Muffin on the grill” using that square cast iron pan….

While making a cornbread batter today, found this recipe on the back of a can of Clabber Girl Double Acting Baking Powder, so you KNOW it just has to be good!

Old Fashioned Biscuits

Ingredients:

• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 3 1/2 tsp Clabber Girl Baking Powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/3 cup shortening
• 3/4 cup milk
• 1 tbsp soft margarine or butter

Directions:

1. In a medium mixing bowl, stir together flour, baking powder and salt.
2. Using a pastry blender, cut in shortening till mixture resembles coarse crumbs.
3. Make a well in the center of the flour mixture.
4. Add the milk all at once.
5. Using a fork, stir just till moistened and dough pulls away from the sides of the bowl, (dough will be sticky).
6. On a floured surface, lightly knead dough with floured hands for 30 seconds or till nearly smooth.
7. Lightly roll dough to 3/4-inch thickness.
8. Cut dough with 2 1/2-inch cookie cutter, dipping cutter in flour between cuts.
9. Place biscuits close together on a lightly greased baking sheet.
10. Brush tops with soft margarine.
11. Bake in a 475 degree oven for 11 to 15 minutes, or until golden brown.
12. Serve warm.

Yeild: Makes about 8

My Buddy found a great recipe for Jalapeno-Cheese Cornbread and shared it with us a few years back. The proportions described in the recipe are perfection in my opinion… Chili with cornbread, Navy beans with onion and cornbread, Hoppin John with cornbread – you name it and cornbread is the perfect match! (Heidi loves it for dessert with butter and honey). I got a HUGE kick out of his “dry” humor when he added “serves 1″ to the recipe!

Jalapeno & Cheese Cornbread

Ingredients:

• 1 1⁄2 cup yellow cornmeal
• 1⁄2 cup all purpose white flour
• 1⁄4 cup sugar
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup milk
• 1⁄3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 ea egg (large), lightly beaten
• 1 ea 4 oz can chopped jalapeno
• 3 1⁄2 ounce cheddar cheese, shredded

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 400 F.
2. Grease an 8 inch square baking pan.
3. Combine dry ingredients medium bowl.
4. Combine milk, oil, and egg in small bowl. Mix well. Add mixture to dry ingredients. Stir until blended. Pour into pan.
5. Mix, then add chilis and cheese. Fold in.
6. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a wooden pick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Notes:
If recipe is doubled, use a 13 x 9 inch baking pan.
Try reducing oil to 1/4 cup when using cheese. (I found this to be an important hint).

For Outdoor Cooking:

I have a Lodge Logic square frying pan that is absolutely perfect for cornbread and matches this recipe (doubled) perfectly. The trick with cast iron is to pre-heat your iron to *very* hot before inserting the batter.  YUM!

In an earlier post, I mentioned my Buddy’s GREAT Macaroni Salad – he originally found the recipe on www.allrecipes.com and admittedly does not follow it precisely, (real cooks never do), but here is a slightly modified version of their original recipe.  He uses a food processor for the veggies – makes sense, but he isn’t quite as lazy as I am.

This is a wonderful side-dish, particularly for those summer gatherings with some outdoor cooking in mind.

Classic Macaroni Salad
Ingredients

• 4 cups uncooked elbow macaroni
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1⁄4 cup distilled white vinegar
• 2⁄3 cup white sugar
• 2 1⁄2 tablespoons prepared yellow mustard
• 1 1⁄2 teaspoons salt
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
• 1⁄4 cup grated carrot (optional – we opt to put them in for color/presentation)
• 2 tablespoons chopped pimento peppers (optional – we opt to leave them out)

Directions

1. Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Add the macaroni, and cook until tender, about 8 minutes. Rinse under cold water and drain.
2. In a large bowl, mix together the mayonnaise, vinegar, sugar, mustard, salt and pepper. Stir in the onion, celery, green pepper, carrot, pimentos and macaroni. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours before serving, but preferably overnight.